{Review} "Taste" by Kate Evangelista

Title:  Taste
Author: Kate Evangelista
Publisher:  Crescent Moon Press
Publication Date:  April 30, 2012
Genre:  YA Paranormal
Format:  Kindle 434 KB, Paperback 276 pages


Buy this book on Amazon:  Paperback  |  Kindle Edition 

Author's Website:   http://www.kateevangelista.com/

Synopsis from Goodreads

At Barinkoff Academy, there's only one rule: no students on campus after curfew. Phoenix McKay soon finds out why when she is left behind at sunset. A group calling themselves night students threaten to taste her flesh until she is saved by a mysterious, alluring boy. With his pale skin, dark eyes, and mesmerizing voice, Demitri is both irresistible and impenetrable. He warns her to stay away from his dangerous world of flesh eaters. Unfortunately, the gorgeous and playful Luka has other plans.

When Phoenix is caught between her physical and her emotional attraction, she becomes the keeper of a deadly secret that will rock the foundations of an ancient civilization living beneath Barinkoff Academy. Phoenix doesn’t realize until it is too late that the closer she gets to both Demitri and Luka the more she is plunging them all into a centuries old feud.

Diving in... 

I don't know where to start with this review.  On one hand I loved the book and on the other hand I was annoyed because it reminded me of so many other YA paranormal books I have read.  Don't get me wrong, the premise is completely original, there were just bits of it that were eerily similar to a couple of popular series that I love.  Once I got passed that I really enjoyed the story.

I am not going to talk about the plot of the book much because I don't want to post any spoilers.  I am also not going to summarize it, because the synopsis does a pretty good job of that!

Kate Evangelista did a nice job building the world in this book.  Barinkoff Academy is a private school located in Russia, but most of the story takes place deep underground.  There is a whole civilization of "flesh eaters" called Zhamvy literally living underground.  The details that went into the whole city, the clothing, how they live, the "caste" system is really well done.

I loved the main characters name, Phoenix.  I think I liked the name more than the character at times throughout the book though.  It's hard to explain without giving things away.  It's not enough of a turn off that I would have ever quit reading the book though!  She's a rich girl, rebellious enough that she was sent away to school by her father.  She has a hard time defining the feelings that she is having for the two boys.  She doesn't have a hard time wanting to help them.  It's almost to her detriment though, she acts before she thinks and that gets her into trouble more than once.  Phoenix has a good heart, that's easy to see even when you want to yell at her "how can you possibly think that's a good idea"!

There was nothing about Demetri that I didn't like.  He is the "dark and mysterious" boy in the book and he lives up to the reputation.  He and Phoenix have an instant connection that is constantly tested throughout the course of the story, but you can feel the connection even if they can't all the time.  Really, I liked all the major characters in the story.  Luka is the "other" boy that every YA story seems to have but this is a case where you can't help but root for him because he is such a likable character.  All three main characters have issues in their lives that they are dealing with.  Working through these issues as the story unfolds brings them all closer, but they all have to make choices that will not only affect them but everyone around them.  

Overall, I think that this was a really good book.  It was well written and flowed smoothly.  I wouldn't hesitate to read anything that Kate Evangelista puts out there.  I would recommend this book to anyone who likes YA Paranormal books.

I don't have any real content warning in this one.  There is no cursing that I remember.  There are a couple of intense kissing scenes and some talk of being intimate.

Rating 8/10

Disclaimer:  I was provided with a mobi copy of this book courtesy of Kate Evangelista in exchange for my review.